In his recent attempt in this paper to defend his vote on the Republican tax plan, Congressman Tom MacArthur promised a tax cut for the New Jersey middle class. How much? He didn’t specify. Probably because the answer is not much, if any.

It is already understood that the tax bill will most greatly benefit the richest Americans. What is often overlooked, and what the congressman failed to explain, is that the tax plan as currently configured will result in a massive transfer of wealth from many Northeast states to so called “low tax” Southern states. Which is deeply ironic since New Jersey already pays far more in federal taxes than it receives in return, compared to many low-tax states that consistently take far more than they provide.

States are “low tax” for reasons that include:

•Large proportions of their population on public federal assistance;

•Lax regulatory policies that lead to uncontrolled growth and environmental damage. Such policies leave them more vulnerable to the effects of disasters that the federal government cleans up. (See for example, Houston in 2017);

•Federal policies and contracts that artificially prop up increasingly outdated energy industries like oil and coal on which their state economies depend;

•Regressive forms of taxation that disproportionately affect poor people without supplying crucial services like quality schools.

So Congressman MacArthur’s implication that New Jersey should be emulating these “low tax” states is not only way off base, his vote would serve to greatly exacerbate the unfair give/take imbalance that already exists. This is bad for New Jersey. Period.

Even if we were to accept the congressman’s word on a middle class tax cut (and that is a big “if” for most in New Jersey), ask yourself: Is the extra $15, maybe $20, a week or so worth it? Is it worth the massive increase in the federal deficit? The drastic cuts in Medicare and Social Security that are sure to follow? Is it worth the decreased revenue for crucial infrastructure projects like the Hudson River tunnel? The inevitable decline in property values as we shuttle our wealth southward? The loss of health insurance for millions across the country and thousands in our state?

It is clear that most people in New Jersey will not “benefit” from this tax plan, even if they are among those that might receive a very modest tax cut. It boggles the mind that any New Jersey politician could support this. My own congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen, made a procedural vote in support of the tax bill and then publically denounced it when it was too late. New Jersey deserves better. We need people in Congress who will fight harder, and more effectively, for fairness.